RED HOT BRITTANY FORCE RACES INTO TEXAS

HOUSTON, TX (April 26, 2016) — It took 75 races for Brittany Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel team to breakthrough with their first win but only two races to double that total. Last weekend Force and her Alan Johnson and Brian Husen led team blasted back into the winner’s circle at the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. The win extended Force’s points lead in Top Fuel and has the fourth year pro brimming with confidence. This weekend Force will head to the NHRA SpringNationals with three final round appearances and two wins already to her credit.

“People say that the first win is the toughest and it was because it took me till my fourth season. My second one came easier but I wouldn’t say easiest because it is still tough. These guys on my team are the hardest workers that I have seen and they have dedicated everything into this car. Now I get to celebrate with them in the winner’s circle,” said Force, from the Charlotte pressroom.

Force started racing in 2006 in the Super Comp category and moved up to A Fuel dragster for a number of seasons. She was competitive but never finished a race day undefeated. After testing a Top Fuel dragster for the 2012 season Force joined the pro ranks in 2013 where she again excelled winning rookie of the year honors but that first win remained elusive for three full seasons.

Her breakthrough win came at the historic Gatornationals this year and as her teammate and fellow Gatornationals winner Robert Hight said in the pressroom that day, “The first win is always the toughest and wins seem to come easier after to get the first one.”

Last weekend in Charlotte Force wasn’t sure about her chances on race day after a disastrous final qualifying session. In that session Force became confused during the staging procedures and basically threw away all the valuable data with a sub-par run. On race day Force was as focused as any veteran Top Fuel racer posting great reaction times including a stellar .042 in the final which had her first off the starting line against superstars Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Clay Millican.

“I am just still trying to get over this. You know, four-wide is not easy. It’s definitely tricky and I struggled as I am sure you saw in qualifying. I got lost and the easiest thing to do is to step on the gas and I forgot to do that. The fact that I just won the four-wide is just huge because it was a challenge. It is new and it’s not easy. It just feels good to get the win, but to be the points leader is just fantastic,” confessed Force at the end of the Charlotte race.

It was a day of firsts for Force as she became the first female to win a Four-Wide race and the first female to win in either of the nitro categories. These milestones are nice for Force but she continues to give credit to her Monster Energy team.

“That is just incredible to know that Alan Johnson and Brian Husen can put a car together that is that consistent every single run and run like that. It’s insane and I am so proud to be teamed up with them. It really shows and it really builds my confidence up for the season,” gushed Force from the winner’s circle stage. “The season is still getting started but we are definitely off to a really good start.”

The past two years at the NHRA SpringNationals Force has raced to the second round but no further. This year Force will start her race weekend with a tour of NASA and then get into race mode.

POINTS LEADER HIGHT HAS HIGH HOPES FOR HOUSTON

HOUSTON, TX (April 26, 2016) — Robert Hight and the AAA Texas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team have high hopes for success at this weekend’s NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown. The team has been a perennial championship contender since Hight won his first NHRA national event at the SpringNationals in 2005. Since that win the crewman turned Funny Car driver has collected at least two wins every season of his professional career as well as the Mello Yello Funny Car championship in 2009.

“Getting the first win in 2005 was big. You want to prove that you belong and holding that first Wally was really special. The biggest thing about the first win is you want to get the second win and then the third. I have had a great team my whole career and I am excited to be heading back to Houston with my crew chief Mike Neff who has also won in Houston as a driver,” said Hight.

Two years ago Hight collected his second SpringNationals win outrunning Bob Tasca III, Alexis DeJoria, Del Worsham and then finally Jack Beckman for his 32nd career win. That was Hight’s second win in a row that season and he would go on to win three races in a row in that stretch.

“The Houston track has always been one of my favorites since I run the AAA Texas logo on my Funny Car and we have a lot of fans down there in Texas. We will be doing Nitro School on Saturday from the AAA Texas stage in the pits plus there will be lots of fan activities throughout the weekend,” added Hight.

So far this season Hight has set himself apart from the Funny Car class by racing to the win at the historic Gatornationals in Gainesville which was the first half of the first JFR double-up win in Funny Car and Top Fuel with Brittany Force. Hight also has two semi-final finishes and has qualified fourth or higher in four of the first five races of the season.

“We had a great off-season at the shop and we have some good momentum right now. Winning the Gatornationals was great especially getting to share the winner’s circle with Brittany. The entire John Force Racing team has started the season off on a good note. The key is to continue to work together and be consistent. We aren’t taking anything for granted and we want to get this AAA Texas Chevy Camaro back in the winner’s circle as soon as we can,” said Hight.

Last year at the SpringNationals Hight raced to the semi-finals along with teammate Courtney Force in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro. Since 2012 Hight has qualified in the top half of the field and raced to at least the semi-finals three of the last four seasons.

JOHN FORCE HAS EYE ON TEXAS SUCCESS THIS WEEKEND IN HOUSTON

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 26, 2016) — The winningest driver in NHRA history would like to relaunch his success in Houston this weekend at the NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. The six-time winner hasn’t hoisted the winner’s trophy since 2002 but Force is undeterred in his quest to get win No. 7 at Houston’s spring NHRA event.

“I love Texas and I love racing in Houston. We won there a lot a few years ago but we just haven’t been able to get back into the winner’s circle in a while. I am not worried about it because this PEAK Antifreeze Chevy hot rod has been running great this season. (Crew chief) Jon Schaffer and my guys are keeping me young and we’ll get there. I have a lot of sponsors to thank like AAA Texas and Traxxas which are both Texas companies so there will be lots of people supporting us plus Monster Energy, Lucas Oil and Mac Tools,” said Force.

This season Force raced to the final round in Phoenix where he was bested by veteran Tim Wilkerson and the 16-time champion also has two more semi-final finishes. Most importantly in this competitive Funny Car class Force has not lost in the first round this year.

“We worked on a lot of things in the off-season and we added Alan Johnson and Brian Husen to work on the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster. Mike Neff is my lead for Funny Car and he is working with all the crew chiefs to make sure we all stay on track and the proof is in the pudding. I like how this is working and I am excited to be racing and spending time with my family. Brittany (Force) has a couple wins and Robert (Hight) has a win. Courtney (Force) has a good hot rod with (crew chiefs) Danny Hood and Ronnie Thompson and we are right there with the competition,” added Force.

Force has picked up 48 round wins at the SpringNationals alone and with an appearance in the semi-finals could add this event to fourteen others where he was won at least 50 rounds. His win-loss record currently stands at 48-21 thanks to eight final round appearances from 1990-2002. Over that stretch Force had an amazing record of 35-7.

Coming into the SpringNationals on the heels of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals where the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro team raced to the second round quad has Force focused on getting back to the traditional racing format.

“We were the No. 3 qualifier in Charlotte and that was a great race, sold out on Saturday, and big crowd on race day. Our Chevy was quick and we just barely missed getting to the last race but those are the breaks some times. I spent some time with NASCAR’s Michael Waltrip showing him how to drag race and it will be on FS1 this weekend. I told him the key to winning is being consistent and not making mistakes. We’ll be ready this weekend,” summed up Force.

COURTNEY FORCE READY FOR BREAKTHROUGH WEEKEND IN HOUSTON

HOUSTON, TX (April 26, 2016) —- Courtney Force sits No. 5 in the Funny Car point standings going into the sixth race on the NHRA Mello Yello circuit, the 29th annual NHRA SpringNationals, and she has a big weekend planned for her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team.

“I feel our team has really built consistency with our race car this year and we have learned from the runs that were a struggle. I feel confident that we’ve brought a great race car to every event and are really learning at each track to make us better. We are learning how far we can push this car and have put ourselves in a good position earning bonus points to stay in that top 10,” said Force.

Last year at Houston, Force qualified in the No. 9 spot and beat Tim Wilkerson and Alexis DeJoria before losing to Jack Beckman in the semi-finals. It was the first semi-final round appearance for the 27-year-old driver in 2015.

“We are pushing our Traxxas Chevy Camaro every weekend and will definitely look back at our data from last year when going into Houston. This is a great track and we made it to the semis here last year so we hope to take it all the way,” said Force.

Force recently qualified in the No. 4 spot at the Four-Wide Nationals and won the first round on race day, advancing the team to the second round and losing after her Traxxas Chevy smoked the tires at the hit and she was forced to give up on the run early.

“It will be nice getting back to two-wide and back to a familiar Christmas tree this weekend. I’m excited to get right back to the track and know it will be an easy transition back since this is what all the drivers are used to,” said Force.

Force and her sister, Brittany, are making their rounds on Thursday before the race weekend kicks off, starting with a tour of the NASA museum and ending with Courtney Force going solo to an autograph session at W Hobbies on behalf of her primary sponsor Traxxas from 7pm-8pm, 3730 FM 2920 #102, Spring, TX 77388.

“I’m excited to be able to be a little bit of a tourist when coming to Houston and cannot wait to meet with fans at W Hobbies for Traxxas on Thursday as well as NASA. This is something I have always wanted to do and am excited to learn more about it and see some history of NASA. It’s unbelievable what those engineers do so I can’t wait to see it all,” said Force.